Gut Feeling
by Kairi Uzeniba
Summary: Ino asks Shikamaru for advice, and Shikamaru gives his gut feeling. Too bad it doesn't make Ino very happy...at first. [InoShika] [oneshot] R&R!


**A/N: I needed to write an InoShika oneshot. I needed to. Also, if you're a ShikaTema fan, don't bother flaming me. I hate ShikaTema, and your flame won't change that. Also, I don't really like SakuSasu that much, but a teeny tiny bit is necessary for this fic. Anyway, Read, Review, and Enjoy!**

**Gut Feeling**

Ino Yamanaka walked through the streets of Konoha, frustrated and bored at the same time. She had nothing to do, yet she had to do something. She couldn't forget about what had happened earlier that day.

FLASHBACK

Ino sat, taking a break from training. She'd been working hard.

She heard a team training nearby. She got up and walked around to see who it was. To her delight, she saw Sasuke, expertly throwing shuriken at multiple targets. Soon, she saw Sakura.

"Hey Sasuke-kun, do you know where Kakashi-sensei is? He said he was taking a break an hour ago." Sakura said.

"Hn. I dunno where he went." Sasuke stated bluntly.

Suddenly, kunai flew out of the trees, aimed right toward Sakura and Sasuke. Ino gasped; it wasn't her. Sasuke pushed Sakura out of the way, causing her to fall to the ground. He posted himself in front of her. Ino looked around worriedly.

_Who was that? _Ino thought.

"Yo," came a voice from the trees.

"Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura said, peering out from behind Sasuke.

"Yup. I wanted to see how good you've gotten with sneak attacks," he replied, coming out of the trees casually. "Sasuke, great job. Sakura, you need some work. We'll discuss this later."

"Hn," Sasuke grunted, mumbling something like 'damn' and 'close cal''.

Sakura slowly stood up. "Sasuke-kun?"

"Hn?" he grunted, throwing another shuriken at small stump. He didn't turn to face her.

"Um…why did you protect me?" she asked nervously.

"Because you're my teammate," he stated simply.

Sakura smiled and blushed. "Domo arigato, Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke did not respond. Sakura walked away, leaving a perfectly emotionless Sasuke.

Of course, Ino was watching all of this.

END OF FLASHBACK

Ino steamed as she thought of this incident. Why did Sasuke protect her? She probably could've defended herself. If not, that was _her _problem! Did Sasuke really mean what he said? 'Because you're my teammate'? Or did he really…

Ino stopped dead in her tracks.

_NO!! That's not a possibility, it just can't be…. _she thought.

Suddenly, she saw Shikamaru rounding the corner, casually but lazily. She rushed up to him.

"Shika-kun! I need to talk to you!" she yelled. She grabbed him by the wrist and dragged him into the forest. The whole way, he was mumbling 'troublesome' and 'woman'.

"Well, what do you want?" he asked lazily, shoving his hands in his pocket and sticking his lip out like he usually did.

Ino was trying to think of what to say. "Well…I, uh…I need your advice on something…" She paused.

"Well, what is it? I don't have all day, I have cloud-watching to do." Shikamaru replied, staring at the clouds far above his and Ino's heads.

She explained the situation to him. While she did, it seemed like he wasn't listening at all, but after getting to know him like she had, she knew he was actually analyzing every word she said, working out all the logic to make sense of the situation.

"So?" Ino said. "What does it mean? What do you think Sasuke meant to do?"

Shikamaru groaned softly, which meant he needed to think. Ino stood impatiently, waiting for him to come to a conclusion. She began tapping her foot. After 5 more minutes, she crossed her arms. After another 5 minutes, she got sick of waiting.

"Shika-kun! Sometime this century would be nice!" she yelled, still tapping her foot and crossing her arms.

"What's the hurry? You're always so troublesome." he groaned, still staring at the clouds. "I've come to a conclusion."

"Well? What is it?!" she asked, eager for his response.

"Well…Ino, you might not like what you hear." he warned.

"I don't care! Tell me what you think!" she demanded, getting way too curious.

"Well…Ino, this is my gut feeling, I'm being perfectly honest with you—"

"TELL ME!!!"

"Alright! I honestly think you shouldn't bother wasting your time and energy on Sasuke," he blurted out, knowing he might regret the consequences.

Ino hesitated before speaking. "What?"

"It never seems like he cares about you. He never pays attention to you. You've jumped on his back and he still doesn't care! I don't think you should pay that much attention to him. Maybe you should just give him up." Shikamaru explained.

Ino was shocked. "I…I don't know what to say…except…"

She took a step closer to Shikamaru. And she slapped him. _Hard. _

"You really think I'm gonna give up Sasuke to _Sakura_?!? No way!! Sasuke will be mine!" she yelled.

Shikamaru sighed. "This is what I was afraid of. You women are always so troublesome. Always putting yourselves in heartbreak and then whining about it." he muttered.

"What did you say?" she asked, grabbing his collar.

"All I'm saying is that I _tried _to keep you from getting hurt, but instead you get all competitive with Sakura about it. Why bother? Sasuke hardly pays attention to girls anyway. If he likes Sakura, _so what_? It's his decision, not yours." Shikamaru muttered.

"You're barely making sense, Shika-kun." Ino replied, letting go of his collar. "You're confusing me. Stick to one subject at a time."

"Alright," he said. "You asked for it. All I'm saying is that your putting yourself in situation where you're most likely gonna get hurt by Sasuke. Think about it. He barely pays attention to you, yet you stick to him like glue. All your thoughts are for Sasuke. But what if he rejects you, huh? It seems likely. Even if you think it can't happen, there's always a chance, Ino. If he rejects you, what are you gonna do? You can't say you didn't see it coming. You can't make Sasuke change his mind. And you won't be able to blame it on anyone but yourself, because you insisted Sasuke was the only one for you even thought you were aware of the consequences you might face. And think about it more, Ino. He most likely doesn't like you. Then you most likely will have to go through all that pain and hurt. I don't want you to do that to yourself. That's my gut feeling."

Shikamaru took a breath.

_Wow, what a long speech, _Ino thought.

"I dunno, Shikamaru. I'll think about it more." she said, walking away.

A FEW MINUTES LATER…

Ino sat on a park bench.

_Hmm…give up on Sasuke? _she thought. _But he's hot!_

Ino went over what Shikamaru had said.

_He barely pays attention to you, yet you stick to him like glue. All your thoughts are for Sasuke. But what if he rejects you, huh?_

She'd never really thought about this. It was always just 'Win Sasuke's heart!' and 'Don't let Sakura get him first!' She'd never really made a backup plan.

_And you won't be able to blame it on anyone but yourself, because you insisted Sasuke was the only one for you even thought you were aware of the consequences you might face._

Well, it was somewhat true. If Sasuke rejected her, wouldn't it be somewhat her fault? She had never let herself give up on Sasuke. If the time came when she had to face the consequences, who could she blame? Nobody. But she would be angry at herself for not listening to reason.

_Then you most likely will have to go through all that pain and hurt. I don't want you to do that to yourself. That's my gut feeling._

Why did Shikamaru care so much for her well-being?

The more she thought about it, the less interesting Sasuke became. After about an hour of going over everything, Ino didn't like Sasuke anymore. She went to talk to Shikamaru again.

She found him laying on the bench he usually used for cloud-watching.

"Hi, Shika-kun." she greeted.

"Hey, Ino." he replied, not looking back at her.

"I've decided to go with your advice. I don't think I like Sasuke anymore." she stated.

Shikamaru grinned. "Good choice."

There was a little room on the bench for Ino to sit down, so she did. After a few minutes of thinking, Ino thought of a probing question.

"NOO!!!!" she suddenly screamed, making Shikamaru sit up quickly.

"Ino, what the hell was that?!" he asked, rubbing his head.

"Shikamaru!" she yelled. "There's no way! It can't be!"

"Ino, what's going on?!" he shouted, wondering why she was yelling.

"Shikamaru…you…no…you don't…_like _me, do you?" she asked nervously.

He paused. "Well…"

He leaned close and kissed her on the cheek softly.

"That's my decision, isn't it? I'm fully aware of all the consequences."

Time seemed to stop for the two of them.

Then, Ino began to blush madly. "SHIKA!!" she yelled.

"What?" he asked, smiling at her.

She looked at him. He just continued to smile at her. Ino felt a wave of emotions flow through her.

"DAMNIT!!" she yelled. Ino got up and ran away, still blushing.

Shikamaru lay happily.

"Well thank god that's over and done with. I was wondering if I'd ever get the guts," he said to himself.

"Wooh!" came a voice from the bushes. "And I thought Ino was the bold one!"

Shikamaru sat up. "Who's there?"

Naruto stepped out of the trees, laughing.

"How long have you been there?" Shikamaru asked nervously, hoping Naruto hadn't heard anyting too embarrassing.

"Oh, just some of it." he said. He sat next to Shikamaru and gave big bambi eyes.

"Oh, Shikamaru, you don't _like _me, do you?" he said a high-pitched voice.

Shikamaru blushed slightly. "Whatever." Naruto started laughing again.

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone." Naruto assured. Shikamaru sat up.

"Really?"

"Not everyone_. Just _the entire village!" he said, getting up and running into town. Shikamaru got up and followed him.

"Damnit, Naruto, you troublesome baka!" he yelled.

**A/N: Aw, so cute. Anyway, I apologize for any OOCness. Please review!**


End file.
